Damba

Damba, a Malinke pre-marriage rhythm, played on the occasion of the

bride's ritual bath before the marriage ceremony. This rhythm has the
signature "Dununba Family"-kenkeni part. "Dununba" rhythms are primarily
danced by men as a display of strength and beauty. Damba is traditionally
played for a young woman preparing for marriage. The break is the garden-
variety 12/8 one, not normal signature "Dununba" break (sstsss).

Eh damba n'nya ko la damba leila, eh damba n'nya ko la damba leila

eh damba n'nya ko la damba leila,
kore kore ji da ko man di, damba la ko la fisa

Eh the river bank, I want to wash my face by the river bank (3X)
the wash-water is not sweet, it's good to wash by the river bank.Notes on the
lyrics:
The sense of line four is that water you have washed in, "ji da ko," contains
the dirt which has left your body. Now that it has the dirt it is "not sweet" -
"man di" - "sweet" meaning, by implication, "clean" or "interesting." The
imagery is of life before marriage. The singers tell the young bride-to-be that
what she has literally and figuratively left behind in the wash water is no
longer interesting. In essence, the song tells the young woman that it's time
to leave behind the things of childhood and embrace her new identity as a
wife. The lyric is a good example of Mande rhetorical techniques of metaphor
and indirection.

The partial translation provided in the CD liner notes renders the first line as
"I wash my face." The lyrics themselves are somewhat ambiguous as to who is
singing, the bride-to-be or the other villagers. If they are "n'nya," then they
mean "my face." If, instead, they are "I'nya," they mean "your face." In either
case, the sound indicating possession, "n" for "my" or "I" for "your," is
somewhat hidden by the singers' pronunciation in the context of the song.
Both translations work.

Notes on the performance:

Washing is very important in Mande (and in many other West African peoples')
ritual, both daily rituals and special rites of passage. On a daily basis, Mande
people wash their hands immediately before eating, a cleansing which is
especially important hygenically because they eat with their hands. A large
calabash full of water is kept by the eating spot so everyone can wash their
hands before reaching into the communal plate. But washing the body has
symbolic power as more than removing sweat and soil. Washing also bears the
meaning of personal transformation and inner purification. That is, through
washing, one becomes more like what one is supposed to be. A young man
washes as part of the circumcision ritual to symbolically leave behind his
childhood and assume the mantle of adulthood. A young bride washes away her
girl self as she prepares to enter her husband's home as wife and, soon,
mother as well. Mande Muslims wash to purify themselves for their daily
prayers, to make themselves and their prayers acceptable to Allah.
Understanding the symbolic importance of the washing referred to in the song
can help us perform the piece with a more authentic feel.

Famoudou's performance of Damba begins with a solo voice singing in solemn

and reverential tones. The solemnity seems appropriate to the occasion. A
young woman preparing to enter her husband's house may well feel joy and
excitement, but also some fear of the unknown hardships to come and sadness
at the loss of childhood freedoms and the comforts of her parents' home.
When the drums enter, the mood changes to one of vigorous movement
forward. The drums urge the young woman on to embrace her new life and to
allay her fears. The music itself might be seen as an act of transformation as
well. The sound of the drums and song sonically "wash" the young woman,
separating her past from her future. The liner notes for the CD also indicate
that this piece is played on the return from the river bank, hence one might
also hear this rhythm as a song of welcoming. (Thanks to Adam Rugo for this
additional infomation and the explanation on differance in the sangban) 14-10-
2001

Call
T . T T . T T . T T . .
f . r l . l r . r l . .

Kenkeni

. . O . O O . . O . O O . . O . O O . . O . O O
. x x . x x . x x . x x . x x . x x . x x . x x

Sangban
 C . . . . O . . O . . . C . . . . O . . O . . .
x . x x . x . x x . x . x . x x . x . x x . x .

Dun Dun

. . . . O O . O O . O o . . . . O O . O O . O o
. x x . x x . x x . x x . x x . x x . x x . x x

The sangban part is very similar to the sangban for Dunungbe - the bell is the
same - but in this piece the sangban has one additional note. Thedununba drum
also plays three, rather than two, two-note phrases. You can distinguish
between Damba and Dunungbe by the pitch relationships in the ensemble
rhythm:

Dunungbe Ensemble Sound

1 . . 2 . . 3 . . 4 . .
K . . O . O O . . O . O O
S C . . . . . . . O . . .
. . . . . . . O O . O O
. < - - - - > . . . . .

note here: <------> the "kenkeni window" - the rest in the sangban/dununba
conversation leaves room for one complete articulation of the kenkeni phrase.

Damba Ensemble Sound

1 . . 2 . . 3 . . 4 . .
K . . O . O O . . O . O O
S C . . . . O . . O . . .
. . . . O O . O O . O O
. < - > . . . . . . . .
note here: the "kenkeni window" only gives space for a single note from the
kenkeni phrase.

Djembé 1

S . T S . . S . T S . . S . T S . . S . T S . .
r . r l . . r . r l . . r . r l . . r . r l . .

Sangban variation: 1

C . . O . O . . O . . . C . . O . O . . O . . .
x . x x . x . x x . x . x . x x . x . x x . x .

Sangban variation; 2
C . . . O O . . O . O O . O . O . O . . O . . .
x . x . x x . x x . x x . x . x . x . x x . x .

Sangban variation: 3

C . . . . O . O O . O . . O O . . O . . O . . .
x . x x . x . x x . x x . x x . x x . x x . x .

Sangban variation: 4

C . . . . O . . O . . O O . . . . O . . O . . .
x . x x . x x . x x . x x . x . x x . x x . x .

Sangban variation: 5

C . . . . O . . O . . O O . O . . O . . O . . .
x . x x . x x . x x . x x . x . x x . x x . x .